La Parure- English Version
by Sailor's Wife
Summary: The tale of La Parure as hastily rewritten in English to be translated for a college French assignment (author's notes explain a bit better). Thief!Minerva. No Magic. HP/GW, RW/HG, HG/MM


**A/N: As an assignment for French class, we watched the short film La Parure and was tasked with either writing the next scene, writing an essay, or rewriting it as a modern tale. I chose to rewrite it using the Harry Potter characters as my muse. While I changed the names to French names for my assignment, I left the HP characters intact to upload here. The following may seem a bit simplistic in comparison to my other fics, but my French isn't THAT good, and I don't have the time to devote to writing right now. I'll graduate in a few short weeks, but right now I am student teaching as the full time social studies teacher at a local high school, a mom to 4, a guardian of a toddler while my brother is deployed, and a wife, etc.**

 **Come join us on a short, hastily written fable of fantasy and consequences. Oh, I don't own any of it, HP belongs to J.K. Rowling, La Parure belongs to someone else, and I'm making no money. Find the French version here: s/12459028/1/La-Parure**

 **...**

Her thoughts had wandered again, as was becoming habit as of late. Hermione chalked her daydreams up to too many romance novels. Since the birth of her child, she had taken to reading as an escapism from the effects of mild post-partum depression and the sleep deprivation that came with being a new mother. How else could she explain her desire to know what the waitress checking in on them would look like under her body in the throes of passion? Yes, she really needed to kick the reading habit, her daughter was now two.

Hermione was drinking coffee with a good friend of hers, Ginny Potter at the Potters' country club while their husbands played golf. Ginny gave the waitress an affronted look for interrupting her big news. Ginny's husband, Harry was being honored for closing a major brokerage deal on Friday at some large gala and was urging Hermione to go with her. Just as she was trying to find an excuse to avoid going, their husbands walked in and sat down.

Ron greeted her with a quick kiss to the cheek before addressing Ginny. "What are you trying to convince my wife of?"

"I'm sure Harry told you he's being recognized Friday at some shindig. With Harry's time being monopolized by insincere slaps on the back by competitors, I fear that it will be dreadfully boring without company of my own, hence my invitation to your wife."

"Well," Ron looked pensive for a moment. "She hasn't really been out other than for coffee since Rose was born. It might do her some good."

A smile graced Ginny's face as a frown adorned Hermione's. "What is it love?" Ron asked.

"It's just- I don't have anything acceptable to wear, and Sophie's clothes haven't fit me since I was three months along with Rose."

"Then you'll just have to get a new dress. You're due for some spoiling. I know you've been restless since Rose was born, maybe this is just what you need. Besides, I'm going to be away until late Friday on that extradition case. Mum can watch Rose, and I know you'll be in good hands with Ginny."

"A new dress for something like this isn't going to be cheap hun, we're talking €700-1000."

Ron blanched. _There goes that new six iron,_ he thought as Harry laughed at his look and slapped him on the knee. "It's fine love. Go shopping with Ginny this afternoon, I'll take Rose to the park for a while."

Ginny added, "Don't worry about jewels dear, I have an extensive selection you can borrow from."

Hermione was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Yes, she did need to get out, but spending so much money seemed frivolous at best. Needing a moment to gather her thoughts she excused herself to the restroom.

…..

Emerald eyes swept the room assessing; they landed on two women drinking exotic coffee out of hand-crafted crystal mugs. One woman was stunning with rich red hair and porcelain skin, wearing expensive designer clothes and obviously comfortable being surrounded by the who's who of the upper class. She could only be Ginny Potter. The other woman was pretty in a more traditional sense, her curly brown hair was twisted into a chignon above a stiff collared shirt that likely came from the sale rack at Macy's. This woman was obviously less comfortable in her surroundings and tried to hide it well. Intrigued, she slid up to the bar near their table, ordered a hot drink of her own, and settled in for a little eavesdropping. It didn't take long before her instincts were again proven right. The redhead was trying to convince the brunette to accompany her to an upscale party in a few days. The brunette's protests of having a child at home and positively nothing to wear were cut short by the interruption of the waitress asking if everything was to their liking. The brunette's eyes swept over the waitress, lingering on her lips for a moment before she turned back to her friend. _Interesting._

By the time the brunette excused herself to the lady's room, she knew she had her target. By Saturday she would have some of Ginny Potter's jewels sold and several hundred additional euros in her account. She just had to get the timing right. She paid for her drink and headed towards the restrooms. Just before her hand reached the door, it opened and the brunette, obviously distracted, came rushing out. Not bothering to move, the thief let the brunette crash into her. The impact was a bit more forceful than she had counted on, to keep from both falling she had to wrap her arms around the brunette and alter her stance.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"No worries," the thief replied, releasing her. "It's been a long time since I've had a beautiful woman in my arms." She watched a blush blossom on the brunette's cheeks before extending her hand. "Minerva McGonagall."

Hermione accepted the proffered hand. "Hermione Weasley," she said looking into emerald eyes. A moment later she released the hand and took in the vision before her. Minerva was tall, and lithe. She wore an emerald green silk blouse offset by a string of pearls, crisp black slacks, and comfortable heels. Her black hair was pulled into a tight bun, but a few tendrils had escaped framing her face.

The thief couldn't help a slight smirk as she let the other woman drink her in. This was going to be too easy. "It was nice to bump into you Mrs. Weasley, but-" she gestured toward the restroom.

"Oh- uh, my apologies Ms. McGonagall." Hermione stammered and moved to the side.

As Minerva moved past she said with a wink, "I hope we run into each other again sometime," and disappeared through the door.

It took several moments before Hermione moved from the door. Shaking her head, she returned to her friends and spouse.

Hours later she was still thinking of the enigmatic, emerald eyed woman as she twirled in her new dress in front of the mirror. Perhaps she _would_ see Minerva again, perhaps at the gala. As the door to her room clicked open she let the fantasy fade and turned to her husband with a smile.

"You look beautiful love," he said.

She turned back to the mirror and fingered the elaborate necklace adorning her throat. Yes, she did look beautiful, and perhaps a certain green eyed woman would think so too.


End file.
